by Steven Macpherson

Created on: May 21, 2009

Because it is a common and unfortunate misnomer to label someone as an African American even if he or she is from Canada, I am going to assume that the title for this article should read "Why isn't African-Canadian history taught in Canadian schools?" I want to assert that it is a very good question. African Canadian history is among the most fascinating and important histories contributing to the character of our country. With the possible exception of the rather Americanized and politicized focus surrounding "Black History Month" it has been relegated to relative obscurity.

African Canadian history does interact with African American History at at least three important junctions. These include: the Revolutionary War; the Civil War and the Civil Rights Movement. More contemporary histories would also have to consider immigration to Canada by African descended people. The character of several major Canadian cities and regions has been significantly affected by the influence of both Canadian born African-Canadians and more recently the immigrations of significant numbers from Caribbean Islands such as Jamaica and Haiti as well as the continent of Africa itself.

The basic reason that African Canadian history is not studied in our schools has to with the ignorance many curriculum designers have of this history themselves. History in general as a study in the Canadian classroom has become less significant and therefore those areas of our history that have been traditionally overlooked such as Black history remain obscure. It is also true that history textbooks and curriculums are often not written or even majorly consulted on by professional historians. In many provinces, history curriculums have been diluted to the nebulous subject of "Social Studies", a course geared more to create a very general knowledge of the various subcultures and geography that make up our country than to give a true awareness of the historical issues and struggles that have deeply affected Canadian identity. Even the emaciated insight into Canadian history offered by Social Studies has been deeply tampered with by the political correctness movement, which strives to circumvent wherever possible historical events and circumstances that expose the tarnished aspects of our past.

The history of African Canadians is one of courage, cruelty and creativity. It is impossible to reveal the courage and the creativity without also exposing that much of African Canadian history took place

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